“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
A trial looking at VEPEMB chemotherapy for patients over 60 years old with Hodgkin lymphoma (SHIELD study)
Cancer type:
Blood cancers
Hodgkin lymphoma
Lymphoma
Status:
Results
Phase:
Phase 2
This trial was to see if a combination of chemotherapy drugs called VEPEMB worked as well as ABVD chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma.
One of the most common treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma is a combination of chemotherapy called ABVD. This is doxorubicin (Adriamycin), bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine. Because the treatment is very intensive, the side effects can be quite bad. Older people often need to have lower doses of drugs, or sometimes aren’t well enough to have this treatment at all.
Doctors hoped a new combination of drugs called VEPEMB would be as good as ABVD but cause fewer side effects. VEPEMB is a combination of the chemotherapy drugs vinblastine, cyclophosphamide, procarbazine, etoposide, mitoxantrone and bleomycin, and the steroid prednisolone. They hoped it would be better than ABVD for people over 60 years old.
The aims of this trial were to find out
- More about the side effects of VEPEMB
- How good VEPEMB was for people over 60 years old with Hodgkin lymphoma
Summary of results
The trial team found that VEPEMB was a satisfactory treatment for people over 60 years old with Hodgkin lymphoma.
In total 175 people were registered into the SHIELD study
- 103 were well enough to have VEPEMB
- 72 were not
Of the 103 people who had VEPEMB
- 31 had early stage lymphoma
- 72 had advanced stage lymphoma
For those who had early stage lymphoma, after treatment there was no sign of disease in 74 out of every 100 people (74%). This called a 
. For those who had advanced stage lymphoma, after treatment there was no sign of disease in 61 out of every 100 people (61%).
After an average follow up of 3 years in those who had early stage lymphoma
- 81 out of every 100 people (81%) were still alive
- The lymphoma had not come back in 74 out of every 100 people (74%)
For those who had advanced stage lymphoma
- 66 out of every 100 people (66%) were still alive
- The lymphoma had not come back in 58 out of every 100 people (58%)
The most common side effect was a drop in blood cells.
The trial team concluded that people over 60 years old with Hodgkin lymphoma could be treated with VEPEMB.
We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Chief Investigator
Prof Stephen Proctor
Supported by
Cancer Research UK
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
Marrow & Stem Cell Transplant 2000
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
SHIELD Study Group
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Other information
This is Cancer Research UK trial number CRUKE/03/020.
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Last review date
CRUK internal database number:
Oracle 558
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Charlie took part in a trial to try new treatments
